There have been many weddings I have shot over the years and each have their own special place in my memory. One such wedding was of Allie and Peter. They saw my work on Instagram and loved my style of candid photography in the sun and wanted to have me be their engagement photographer! Of course, I was delighted to be chosen out of all the talented photographers on island, but little did I know that they would be so in sync with my personality.

My assistant and I showed up to the park ready to shoot, despite the day being scorching hot! The sun was really beating down on us and I hoped that we all brought enough water to last. Most of all, my worry was my making my couple hot and tired due to the weather and having to not get the special kinds of photos they wanted.

I was way off.

Allie and Peter arrived and their energy did not sway, falter, or die. They were 100% energized and in such a great mood. I asked them to run in the park, to give her a piggy-back, to spin around holding each other like a romance film. They did it ALL without complaint. The more we shot, the more smiles they had and this was all during the heat of a blazing sun. These two were unstoppable. It was as if all the sweat and dirt we were all accumulating meant nothing; in fact, they only laughed even more. Allie and Peter cemented themselves in my memory as one couple that just know how to bring the sunshine to everyone around them.

Their wedding day was no different. From morning prep to reception, the day was the same as their engagement; a full cloudless, sunshine day. Which, of course, is always welcome! The heat, however, tends to make things so dreary but not to these two. The morning prep was full of laughs and energy. The bride, Allie, gave her father a first look surprise and it gave her so much happiness. Morning prep, which I always regard as the most challenging of a wedding day, breezed through.

After the ceremony, we arranged to meet in the Westin Hotel lobby to take some entourage and couple photos. This part started late as some people were caught up in the 5 o’clock traffic. Luckily, we managed to get some cool ones in the lobby and some dreamy ones outdoors by the chapel. To make it more intimate, we even reshot some of their engagement photos, but this time on the wedding day in their wedding outfits. Due to the heat however, we unfortunately had to move inside so that they would not be sweaty for the reception.

This was where I had to resort to my creativity. There weren’t many places in the lobby where we could take romantic photos so we went to a different floor. There was only a couch, and a low ceiling good enough for my flash; so I got to work. We played around with some poses on the couch (which I think look pretty neat), but then we saw the elevator and I had a breakthrough.

Every wedding I shoot, I try to take at least one shot that makes it stand out from there rest of the ones I’ve done in the past. I wanted to give them an elevator photo. This was tricky as hotel elevators can only be called up once per floor so even if we pressed the button, only one elevator could come. My vision was to have them both in separate elevators looking at each other and one may think this was impossible. I can assure you, it was VERY MUCH possible. I had each of them stand in the open elevator separately and stayed very, very still as I took the photo. I knew that to achieve what I wanted, I would have to do some photo magic in post.

Now, with post-work, photographers will always tell you to get it done before post and they are correct. Having it done in person can save you more time than simply relying on post. We took the shots, and I pieced together one of my favorite fun shots ever! We even found one of the floor restaurants that was closed for the day, and took an even funnier shot (which you can all see below).

Allie and Peter were an amazing couple and I am thankful to have been their photographer. Out of all the sessions in 2023 that I love to reminisce, theirs would be the top of that list. They even gave me a heartfelt review via WhatsApp that to this day, I keep in my phone’s gallery to look back on to remind myself that what I do is appreciated, and the photos I take are loved. Pretty cool, huh?